E-commerce Fulfilment Shipping from China
Export freight for e-commerce fulfilment — packing specification, container loading, HS classification and clearance. Quoted EXW, FOB, CIF, CIP or delivered duty-paid.
We move E-commerce Fulfilment out of China as ordinary export freight — booked, packed and cleared to the same standard as any other commodity, but planned around the fact that it goods that must arrive pick-ready, not merely undamaged.
The pricing follows from it. Mixed. Marketplace inbound is priced per carton and per pallet with hard limits on both weight and dimension, and a carton that breaches them is refused at receiving rather than surcharged.
A caution particular to this commodity. Receiving discrepancies that are really counting discrepancies. If the carton quantity on the packing list does not match what the warehouse counts, the whole consignment sits in a discrepancy queue. Have the factory seal and mark each carton with a verified count.
On the compliance side the recurring item is straightforward to state and easy to leave too late: Marketplace prep compliance, and IOSS or destination VAT registration before arrival. HS classification generally falls in chapter mixed, though the exact heading depends on specification and should be confirmed against your own product before you rely on a duty estimate.
Freight reference — E-commerce Fulfilment
| Typical HS chapter | mixed |
|---|---|
| Cargo behaviour | Goods that must arrive pick-ready, not merely undamaged |
| How it prices | Per carton and pallet |
| Usual service | Sea planned, air for restocks |
| Main compliance step | Marketplace prep compliance, and IOSS or destination VAT registration before arrival |
| Trade terms available | EXW, FOB, CIF, CIP, DAP or delivered duty-paid |
HS chapters are indicative. The binding classification depends on your exact specification — confirm the heading before relying on a duty estimate.
Packing and protection
Poly-bag anything with a suffocation risk and print the warning at the required size. Barcodes must scan on the outer selling unit as well as the carton, because most 3PLs receive at unit level and will charge to relabel anything their scanner rejects.
Loading the container
On loading: Palletise to the receiving standard — pallet height, overhang tolerance and stretch-wrap coverage are all specified, and appointment slots are refused for pallets that do not conform.
Choosing the service
On routing: Sea for replenishment planned around the season; air for launches, restocks and anything where going out of stock costs more than the freight. Split shipments across both when a stockout risk is real.
Where it usually goes wrong
Receiving discrepancies that are really counting discrepancies. If the carton quantity on the packing list does not match what the warehouse counts, the whole consignment sits in a discrepancy queue. Have the factory seal and mark each carton with a verified count.
Live rates on lanes that carry this cargo
Published per-kilo and per-CBM rates from China, updated from carrier feeds. Rates are lane-based rather than commodity-based, so these apply to e-commerce fulfilment as much as to any other general cargo on the same route.
Frequently asked questions
How is freight priced for e-commerce fulfilment?
Mixed. Marketplace inbound is priced per carton and per pallet with hard limits on both weight and dimension, and a carton that breaches them is refused at receiving rather than surcharged.
How should e-commerce fulfilment be packed for export?
Poly-bag anything with a suffocation risk and print the warning at the required size. Barcodes must scan on the outer selling unit as well as the carton, because most 3PLs receive at unit level and will charge to relabel anything their scanner rejects.
Air or sea for e-commerce fulfilment?
Sea for replenishment planned around the season; air for launches, restocks and anything where going out of stock costs more than the freight. Split shipments across both when a stockout risk is real.
What customs paperwork does e-commerce fulfilment need?
The step that most often holds a shipment is Marketplace prep compliance, and IOSS or destination VAT registration before arrival. Classification normally falls in HS chapter mixed, but the exact heading depends on your specification — send the product details and we will confirm the code and the duty position for the destination before you commit.
What goes wrong most often with e-commerce fulfilment shipments?
Receiving discrepancies that are really counting discrepancies. If the carton quantity on the packing list does not match what the warehouse counts, the whole consignment sits in a discrepancy queue. Have the factory seal and mark each carton with a verified count.
Is there anything specific to e-commerce fulfilment we should know?
The receiving warehouse, not customs, is the strictest checkpoint. Carton weight caps, label placement, box-content declarations and appointment windows are all enforced mechanically, and non-compliance is charged per unit rather than argued about.
Can you quote e-commerce fulfilment on FOB or CIF rather than duty-paid?
Yes. We quote EXW, FOB, CIF, CIP, DAP and delivered duty-paid on this cargo. The term decides how much of the journey is already inside the price — the trade-terms table on any of our rate pages sets out exactly who carries which cost at each stage.